She has been reunited with Brooke Vincent who plays on-screen sister Sophie

Meanwhile, Helen’s co-star Brooke Vincent says she loves having the actress back as her on-screen sister Rosie and also revealed she’s partly responsible for her returning to Weatherfield.

The 24-year-old actress – who portrays Sophie Webster in the long-running soap – played a major hand in the brunette beauty’s return to the cobbles because she approached the show’s producer Kate Oates prior to her leaving for theatre last year.

Speaking Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on This Morning, Brooke said: “I had a little bit of a hand in Helen’s return. Before I left, I was speaking to Helen and I said: ‘You should come back.’

“And she said: ‘Darling I’d love to come back.’ So when I was speaking to Kate Oates, who is our producer, before I left [to do a play], I said: ‘Do you reckon we could bring Helen back for a bit?’

“And she said: ‘Well, I’ll see.’ And the next thing we’re on our way back.”

She continued: “It’s good, it’s nice to have her back. When you’ve grown up with somebody and they are pretty much like your sister, to be back together you reminisce on all the times you’ve had together.

“You remember why you were friends in the first place. She’s lovely and I love her so much. It’s nice to have a laugh with her again.”